A new game named Sonic Athletics is launched at Sega Joypolis today. This is a very physical game that replaces the athletics game Burnout Running that stood this far on the 2nd floor of the Joypolis. Sonic Athletics features 8 treadmills placed in front of vertical screens displaying a stadium track. After selecting one of the 8 available characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Amy, Metal Sonic, Silver and Blaze), the players start to run on the treadmills. The faster they run, the faster their character runs. The game fee is 500 Yen and the player must be at least 1m10 in height to be admitted.

Two shmup games will be released in Japan tomorrow: Crimzon Clover for NESiCAxLive (Taito's NESiCAxLive) and Under Defeat HD+ (Sega's ALL.Net P-ras MULTI). Crimzon Clover is primarily a PC game released in 2010. The arcade version published by Bouken was scheduled to be released in summer 2012 but adaptation problems forced the developer Yotsubane to delay its release several times. The game is rebalanced, a new ship is added and a national ranking is available. Developed by G.rev, Under Defeat HD+ is an adaptation of Under Defeat HD, a home console version out in February 2012, this version was itself an HD port of Under Defeat released on NAOMI in 2005... As its name suggests, the game is in HD. The display has changed to horizontal, stages are more detailed and a "New Order" mode is added.

The new Pix'n Love mook was released yesterday. Throughout the "arcade" page of this 22nd volume, you will find a 12-page dossier on the creation of Wonder Boy punctuated by memories of Ryuichi Nishizawa. It also includes the history of Out Run and a report about arcade games in the USSR. Beside arcade games, many other topics are discussed such as a retrospective abbout Batman video games, retro news (new releases on consoles of the past), the Vectrex, Barbarian remakes and other computer and console games. As usual, each article is beautifully illustrated and well documented. Pix'n Love #22 is available for less than €9.00 at Amazon. Please note that this book is available in French language only. Happy reading!

Gunslinger Stratos Ver.1.45 is available today, over a month after the last update. Another new character designed by Shirow Miwa is added: Shino Matsurika, a 14 years-old girl, fan of mechanics and self-proclaimed rival of Jonathan Sizemore. Weapon pack of all the characters have been changed with this update. Update: on April 26, the game switches to version 1.46, weapons packs of some characters from version 1.45 are adjusted.

Het Huis van Alijn museum of Ghent, specialized in the 20th century everyday life culture will house an exhibition named "Tijd voor 80" tomorrow. The nostalgic visitors will be able to see tons of items, magazines and pictures of the '80s. Many activities will be organized throughout the day: aerobics in 80s' clothes with an expert, a Eighties hair saloon, a 80s fluorescent smiley button store, MTV music videos, a Rubik's Cube competition, DJ sets with vinyls and cassettes for electro, breakdance, new beat and new wave fans, ... But also many 80s' arcade games such as Pacman, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders,... Admission is free and the museum is located at Kraanlei 65 in Ghent and is opened from 10:00 to 18:00.

We do not talk often about educational games, and yet we learn best when having fun! Cypriot company Blizzworx just finished their BeBefun Island cabinet. This machine is equipped with a large seat and a 17" touch screen. It offers many activities to young players; they can draw and train their memory, observation, reflection, spelling or numeracy. The games feature colourful graphics and cheerful sound. Blizzworx is currently seeking distributors for BeBefun Island. The game can be translated into any language â€‹â€‹as required. Do not hesitate to contact them for a partnership!

New arrivals this month in your favorite arcades: the Reflex in Oostende now features the excellent Deadstorm Pirates shooter by Namco in deluxe format (a first in Belgium). It is accompanied by Raw Thrills' Dirty Drivin' racing game where every blow is allowed (this is the second one on the seaside side since it was already seen at Sportland Blankenberge). Another unique game in Belgium is Winter X Games SnoCross that just arrived at Coney Island. It is a snowmobile racing game in the spirit of Arctic Thunder. This mobile arcade is in Charleroi until April 22. It will tour in Namur in July, Charleroi in August, Tournai in September, Liège in October and Mons in November. We take this opportunity to remind operators to contact us when purchasing new video games, we will promote them. Please players, inform us when you find a new place with arcade games or a change in one of the location already featured in the list. Information sharing is essential to revive arcades in Belgium! Thank you in advance.

Finally an arcade book that is not about retro games only! Written by Adam Pratt (Arcade Heroes website manager and owner of the Game Grid arcade in West Valley City, Utah), The Arcade Experience - A Look Into Modern Arcade Games and Why They Still Matter focuses on the present and the future of the arcade industry. The book is divided into six chapters, each dealing with a particular topic. The first one looks back at history; to understand the modern arcade world, it is important to understand the origins... The second chapter is devoted to existing arcades and their way of functioning. The third chapter reviews the games released in the West the last 5 years. The fourth and fifth chapters respectively talks about the social aspect of arcades as meeting places and the unique technology used in arcade games. Finally, Adam gives us his perspective on the future of the industry. The book features 204 pages and is illustrated with colour photos. The foreword is signed by Kevin Williams (The Stinger Report) who actively contributes to Arcade Heroes website. This book offers an insightful analysis of today's western arcade world and is a very good way to catch-up for all those who did not follow the news in recent years. The Arcade Experience can be ordered as paperback book or as digital Kindle edition.

Phantom Breaker Another Code is out on Sega's ALL.Net P-ras MULTI (RingEdge 2) today. This arcade version developed by Delta Factory is an adaptation of 5pb's Phantom Breaker released on Xbox 360 in Japan in June 2011. The game has been completely rebalanced for the occasion. Phantom Breaker Another Code uses 4 buttons: SP (burst counter), L (weak attack), M (medium attack), H (strong attack). Fighters have two fight styles: quick style (speed and combos) and hard style (defense).